Updates

15th November, 2014: Folkestone Herald Reports for 1956 and 1957 Added.

Gun Tavern 1950s

Folkestone Herald 30-11-1957

Guildhall Street by “L.R.J.”

It was a quiet little lane, about 12ft. wide, with few buildings along its length and wide open spaces either side of it. Almost a country lane. Shellons Lane was that part of the Guildhall Street of today from the Town Hall to the Cheriton Road turning, and it is so shown on a street map of 1782 in the possession of Folkestone Public Library. The present Shellons Street was then Griggs Lane, and the part of Guildhall Street from the Cheriton turning onwards was called Broad Mead, Bottom Lane.

Why “Shellons” Lane? Shellons was the name of a large field on the west side of the lane, and the thoroughfare, such as it was, took its name from it, just as Copthall Gardens derived from the field called Copt Hall, to the north of Shellons Lane.

Both these fields belonged to the King`s Arms Farm, which in all consisted of about 171 acres. An old map of 1698 lists the various fields that formed the farm. There were only one or two old buildings on the west side of Guildhall Street a century and a half ago, and very few on the east side. Shellons Lane was ..... just a lane.

On the site where the Town Hall now stands was the King’s Arms inn, with next to it two or three small buildings. Behind it was the town gaol, with stocks in which malefactors were placed. Lord Radnor was the hereditary gaoler. Some time after 1782 the King`s Arms was moved across the road to part of the site on which now stands the Queen`s Hotel. It was the corner building of Cow Street (now Sandgate Road) and Shellons Lane. The old King`s Arms buildings were demolished, and a building known as “The Cistern House” was erected on the site. This too was pulled down in 1859, to make way for the present Town Hall, opened in 1861. The Town Hall had no portico until 18 years later.

The first houses on the eastern side of Guildhall Street were erected in 1844, approximately where the Guild­hall Hotel and the shop next door now stand. The hotel itself was opened probably about 30 years later, for the first reference to it is in 1870, when the proud land­lord, named Andrews, an­nounced “Mine is the only house in Folkestone where there is a stand-up bar like the London style.”

By 1844 Guildhall Street - still Shellons Lane - was built up on the east side to about the present premises of Messrs.  Halfords. Development went on until by 1870 there were houses and shops up to the corner of Griggs Lane (Shellons Street), though Messrs. Vickery`s  premises were built a little later. For nearly a century the comer building now occupied by Messrs. Olby was a baker's shop. The premises were built in 1856. It is interesting to note that a very old boundary wall still exists between the premises of Richmond’s dairy and Halfords, a wall more than 150 years old. Towards the end of the nine­teenth century Guildhall Street developed with the expansion of the town and undoubtedly became a popular shopping centre, but it was still far removed from the Street of today.

The west side of the Street, as has already been stated, had very few buildings in 1782. The removal of the King’s Arms from the present Town Hall site to the comer opposite may have been one of the first developments on this side of Guildhall Street. The exact date is uncertain, but it was probably after 1782. The road junction at that time was small, the meeting place of four narrow lanes, and the building stood well out into what is now the roadway. It was not until 1882, and after protracted litigation between the owners and the Corporation that the junction was widened to its present pro­portions. The Kings Arms was a small hostelry by modern standards, with a billiards room at the back and a skittle alley. One wall ran a short distance along Guildhall Street and appears to have been a popular place for posting notices of auction sales, meetings and so on. Later the hostelry was ex­tended and improved. When all the litigation was ended (there is a sizeable volume of the proceedings in the Reference Library) the King’s Arms was pulled down, and on May 30^th, 1885, the Queen’s Hotel was opened.

A large garden occupied most of the length of Guildhall Street from the King’s Arms, nearly to what is now Messrs. Andrews’ shop. It is possible that this gar­den, quite extensive in length and depth, may have belonged to a Mr. Solomon, who built Alexander Gardens.

On the site of Stace’s stood two small cottages, known as Pay’s cottages, and where Mr. Lummus’s cycle shop is now situated stood another building, called Gun cottage. In the course of years the open spaces were built over. On the site of the Playhouse cinema once stood a substantial property known as Ivy House, and behind it, approached by the alley-way which still exists, were stables. A little further along was Marlborough House, the resi­dence of a veterinary surgeon.

Part of the Guildhall Street of days gone by was the Gun barn, shown on the 1782 map. About 1840 the Gun brewery occupied the site of Messrs. Walter’s furnishing store. There is reason to believe that a brewery originally stood on the site of Messrs. Plummer Roddis in Rendezvous Street and was transferred to the new site rather more than a century ago.

The Gun Tavern takes its name from an old gun of the Tudor period, upended, that had long been in position at the comer of Guildhall Street

and Cheriton Road. It was removed to the western end of the Leas prior to the 1914-18 war, and about that period it disappeared. What became of it is a mystery to this day.

The Gun brewery - and breweries were small and many in those days - was owned by a man named Ham Tite. His beer may not always have been up to standard, for in a County Cunt case in 1871 a witness said the beer was so bad that his customers couldn’t drink it. The brewery continued until about 1880, but by 1882 part of it had become, of all things, a Chapel and coffee house. It was known as the Emanuel Mission Church, conducted by a Mr. Toke. The tinted windows of the church remain and there is still an “atmosphere” about the building, though it has long ceased to serve any religious purpose.

The Gun smithy is certainly a piece of old Folkestone, for the building itself has changed, there has been a smithy on this site for at least a century.

The Shakespeare Hotel at the comer of Guildhall Street and Cheriton Road is more than a century old, for all its up-to-date facade. It was refronted in 1897, when it belonged to the Army and Navy Brewery Company. In 1848 it was the Shakes­peare Tavern, and a directory of a later date announces that tea and quoits were available. For some obscure reason it was stated to be “near the Viaduct”.

So the transformation of Guildhall Street from the vir­tually open fields of Shellons Lane into a modern, progres­sive and popularshopping centre has taken place in less than 150 years. The unpaved, narrow lane is no more, gone are some of the ”landmarks” of over 80 years ago, many of the old names have been lost. Changes and development have given to Folkestone a street of which the town can be proud, a street of many trades, a progressive street, a street of good and efficient service to the public, a street of shops where the customer is always right. Guildhall Street.

Chequers 1930 -

Folkestone Herald 16-8-1930

Obituary

The death occurred, on Thursday of last week, of Mr. Walter Scrivens, of the Chequers Inn, Seagate Street. Mr. Scrivens was for 30 years employed on the cross-Channel steamers.

The funeral took place at the Folkestone Cemetery on Tuesday.

Folkestone Express 30-8-1930

Wednesday, August 27^th: Before Alderman R.G. Wood, Messrs. G.I. Swoffer and J.H. Blamey, and Col. G.P. Owen.

Mr. Bonniface applied on behalf of Mrs. Kent for a protection order in respect of the Chequers Inn. He said Mr. Scrivens, the holder of the licence, died on August 7^th, and Mrs. Kent had applied for letters of administration. The protection order was granted to the applicant, who was the daughter of Mr. Scrivens.

Note: This does not appear in More Bastions.

 

Folkestone Herald 30-8-1930

Local News

Mrs. Kent, of the Chequers Inn, Seagate Street, made an application at the Folkestone Transfer Sessions for a protection order pending an application for the transfer of the licence.

Mr. B.H. Bonniface, representing Mrs. Kent, said Mrs. Kent was the administratrix of her father`s estate. When everything was settled the matter would be dealt with in the usual way and an application made for the transfer of the licence.

The application was granted.

Note: This does not appear in More Bastions.

Folkestone Express 11-10-1930

Wednesday 8^th October: Before Alderman R.G. Wood, Miss A.M. Hunt, Mr. F. Seager, Mr. G.I. Swoffer, and Mr. W. Smith.

The Magistrates` Clerk (Mr. C. Rootes) said Mrs. Kent applied for the transfer of the licence of the Chequers Inn, Seagate Street. There had been before the Bench already an application, which was granted, for a protection order to Mrs. Kent, who was administratrix of the late Mr. Walter Scrivens. In order to transfer the licence to Mr. Richard Williams, she had to have the transfer to herself as administratrix. Them Mr. Williams would make the application for the transfer to himself. It was a formal matter.

Chief Inspector Pittock said he had known the applicant ever since he had been in the Force. He knew of no reason why the licence should not be transferred.

The Magistrates granted the transfers.

Note: No record of Mrs. Kent in More Bastions.

 

Folkestone Herald 11-10-1930

Wednesday, October 8^th: Before Alderman R.G. Wood, Mr. G.I. Swoffer, Miss A.M. Hunt, Mr. F. Seager, and Mr. W. Smith.

Mrs. Florence Jane Kent applied for the transfer of the licence of the Chequers Inn, Seagate Street, Folkestone, from Walter Scrivens, deceased, to herself. She had been granted a protection order some time before.

At the same time, Richard Williams applied for the transfer of the licence from Mrs. Kent to himself.

The applications were granted.

Note: Mrs. Kent does not appear in More Bastions.

Folkestone Express 19-3-1932

Local News

On Saturday the Brigade was called by telephone to a bottle store on the premises of Mr. R. Williams, a licensed victualler, of Seagate Street, at 4.45 p.m., to deal with an outbreak of fire in a loft. Six men with the aid of water from a hydrant and one chemical charge extinguished the flames, the only damage being to the floorboards and a number of bottles.

Folkestone Herald 19-3-1932

Local News

A bottle store attached to the Chequers Inn, Seagate Street. The licensed premises of Mr. R. Williams, was the scene of an outbreak of fire on Sunday afternoon, when damage to the extent of £5 was caused. Floor boards and the loft were burnt, and bottled beer was damaged. The Fire Brigade tender and six men turned out, and the outbreak was extinguished with water and one charge of chemicals. The cause is not known.

Folkestone Herald 27-8-1932

Obituary

We regret to record the death on August 29^th, at 29, Mount Pleasant Road, of Mrs. Kirby, the wife of Mr. George Kirby.

Mrs. Kirby, who was 69 years of age, although not much in the public eye of later years, was well known in other days when her husband was the proprietor of the old coaching inn, The Chequers, Seagate Street, and the Royal George Hotel, Beach Street. Mrs. Kirby possessed a kindly heart and this was often well illustrated when in the cold and wintry days she thought of many an empty cupboard in the poorer quarters of the town. Indeed, she did much good by stealth. Much sympathy is accorded to the husband, who during the time of the Mayoralty of the late Alderman Daniel Baker, was a member of the Folkestone Town Council. Some years ago Mr. and Mrs. Kirby left Folkestone for London, but after residing there for a few years came back to Folkestone.

The funeral took place on August 12^th at the Cheriton Road Cemetery.

Folkestone Herald 1-4-1933

Bankruptcy

The increased beer tax and unemployment at Folkestone Harbour were the chief causes to which, at the East Kent Bankruptcy Court, at Canterbury, on Tuesday, Richard Williams, formerly licensee of the Chequers Inn, Seagate Street, Folkestone, attributed his failure. His liabilities were scheduled at £346 2s., with assets estimated to produce £151 14s., leaving a deficiency of £194 8s.

In the course of his public examination by the Assistant Official Receiver (Mr. C.S. Foulsham), debtor said that for 25 years he was employed as a barman at various public houses in Folkestone. He began business on his own account in October, 1930, when he became tenant of the Chequers Inn. He paid a gross ingoing valuation of £184. His wife advanced him £200 to invest in the business, and he obtained other loans - £25 from his father, £30 from his sister, £20 from his son, and later £20 from his brother. All that money was put into the business, a deposit of £75 being paid to the brewers on going into the business. The loans formed the bulk of the unsecured creditors.

At first, continued debtor, he sold four barrels of beer a week, the average profit being £1 a barrel, so that, he agreed, he made a fair living. Later the trade fell off when the beer tax was increased, and there was unemployment at the harbour.

The Assistant Official Receiver said that from debtor`s statement of affairs, there was in February, 1932, a deficiency of £134. Debtor explained that it had been gradually “creeping on”, and was solely due to trade depression.

The Assistant Official Receiver, quoting from the statement, showed that for the past twelve months the accounts revealed that the turnover was £1,221, on which there was a gross profit of 20 percent, or £244. His expenses were £124, leaving a net trading profit of £120. Against that his household expenses and personal expenses were £156, so that his deficiency was gradually increasing.

In reply to further questions, debtor said that in November, 1932, he suffered a loss through burglary, £15 being taken. He went to the police, but nothing accrued. On January 27^th, 1933, he gave notice to the brewers of his intention to quit the premises. His wife then put in a writ for the £200 she had put into the business.

The Assistant Official Receiver commented that that seemed rather a drastic proceeding and enquired the reason. Debtor said they had a few words over the boys, and she said she was going to have her money before it was lost in the business. He then filed his petition. Debtor said he kept a cash book in which he recorded his takings and expenses, although not all of the latter.

The Registrar (Mr. F.M. Furley) pointed out that debtor had vever had any capital of his own, so he was always insolvent to that extent.

Mr. Foulsham agreed, but said that apart from that debtor was doing fairly well in the business when he started.

Debtor attributed his failure to bad trade, due to unemployment and the increased tax on beer. Men could not afford to buy so much beer, and had not been earning enough to buy it. “Men who used to buy four or five pints a day are not now earning 3s. a week on the habour”, he added. He had not spent money on himself, and he had looked after the business. Debtor said part of the furniture had been bought out of money his wife saved from the housekeeping money. Some had been given her.

The Registrar: I don`t suppose the furniture is worth much, is it?

The Assistant Official Receiver agreed, and said he did not want to carry the matter any further.

In reply to Mr. A.K. Mowll, his solicitor, debtor said his wife helped in the business. The £200 for which she issued the writ was money she had had invested in the Co-Operative Savings Bank, and drew out to put in the business. He agreed he was fortunate in his wife to the extent that she had saved money before he went into the business. There were 10 other houses within 150 yards of the Chequers Inn. He really depended on the labourers and fishermen at the harbour for his trade, and now there were very few employed, and others could not afford to buy beer.

In reply to the Registrar, debtor said when he took the house the times were brighter.

Mr. Mowll said his client did pretty well until the price of beer went up and trade went down. Then he was beaten.

The public examination was closed.

Folkestone Herald 16-3-1957

Local News

A plage hotel, with unique facilities for sea and sun­bathing, will be provided at Sandgate, it was stated at the Folkestone adjourned annual Licensing Meeting on Wednes­day.

The justices granted an ap­plication by the Holborn Trust, Ltd., for the removal of the licence of the demolished Chequers Inn, which stood in Seagate Street, to Beacholme Hotel, The Riviera, Sandgate.

Mr. Worthington Edridge, appearing for- the Holborn Trust, Ltd., owners of the freehold of the hotel, said application was made to the Licensing Planning Committee on May 3td, 1955, and their order was confirmed by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government on August 19^th, 1955. In the original application to the Committee the plans showed that a garage would be con­verted into a bar. The owners of the property had since de­cided that it would be better if the bar was situated in the lounge, which was nearer to the sea and easier of access. Mr. Worthington Edridge said it was intended that there should be two bars, one a pri­vate bar and the other a lounge bar. “The object”, he continued, “is that it should become a plage hotel. The idea is to pro­vide amenities for bathing and and sun bathing for visitors. The premises are ideally situated for that type of project. If this planning removal is granted, these premises will be­come something quite unique on this coast. As far as I know there is no hotel which provides a bar which leads straight on to a lawn, with immediate access from the lawn to the sea. That will be a great amenity to visitors to Folkestone”. Leading to the lawn was a terrace where it was proposed to serve drinks. There would also be ample parking and gar­aging facilities for cars. Mr Worthington Edridge said it was intended that the licence should be transferred to Mr. Richard James Butcher. It was purchased from Messrs. Alfred Leney and Co., who had no ob­jection to the removal.